MUTARE A local NGO, SmartTrek, will this month launch an agriculture market access project to link small-scale farmers in rural areas with well established buyers in Zimbabwe and abroad, an official said last week.SmartTrek chief executive, Sailus Huni told The Zimbabwean that the project, which kicked off early this month, would target about 1 200 farmers. Our aim is to enhance knowledge of markets for rural farmers, he said.
Successful farmers or co-operatives would be awarded export certificates to allow them to sell produce abroad, thereby generating foreign currency.
He said market research had already been concluded, with big supermarkets in the country expressing an interest in buying products from small-scale farmers. Huni said the project was set to improve the livelihood of most rural farmers and boost production in the country.
Agriculture is Zimbabwes backbone but various challenges in recent years such as lack of inputs and insufficient technical support had affected production. Huni said the NGO would work with the government together with relevant stakeholders to put in place measures to revive the agricultural sector, and educate farmers on how to improve exports and penetrate new markets.
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